johnnygraec Posted December 20, 2012 Posted December 20, 2012 Trip: Mt. Shuksan - Fisher Chimneys 9/16/12 & 9/28/12 Date: 9/16/2012 Trip Report: Even though it was a few months ago I thought I'd finally post this TR so I didn't feel so bad about the cold rain outside. As a recent east coast transplant I was psyched to get on a classic route out here. I spent a lot of time researching this route. I mainly looked through old TR's. I noticed there were a few mini-epics...route finding being a pretty big issue as well as underestimating the length/time of the route. Initially there were going to be three of us, a buddy I had only climbed once with and his friend I hadn't climbed with before. I was a bit nervous but figured since they had spent time climbing together that the friend would be fine on Shuksan. As the trip neared I found out the friend's brother was going to tag along as well....4's a crowd on Fisher Chimneys. The friends brother had never been on a glacier before so even though we moved slow and didn't top out, it was most fun sharing the mountain with him. We got a noon or so start from the Lake Ann trail head. The hike in is pretty great. At lake Ann we hung out for a bit then headed towards the climbers trail. When we arrived at the first gully or "chimney," I thought we were headed up the route, but this is actually just part of the trail leading to the massive scree field before the route. It took us a while to find our way around some snow blocking the first gully. The loose scree/dirt around this part can make for some slippery traversing. There were a few places on the approach where loose dirt/scree made for some of the least controlled moves on the entire route. I think we made this first part way harder than we had to as I continued up past the rap station coming out on the scree field towards the top of the grassy gully. If you climb up past the rap station on the right you should start looking for a trail up beyond that to the right. There is a decent grade trail which skirts the rest of the gully and deposits you towards the middle of the scree field above some trees. Luckily for us there were two perfect size flat bivy spots right there because when we I topped out the gully and saw the massive scree field and the actual beginning of the route beyond...I knew we weren't going to make it to the top of the chimneys by dark. [img:center]http://www.johngrace.com/shuksan/IMG_4112.jpg[/img] Why this route is so awesome for photography... [img:center]http://www.johngrace.com/shuksan/IMG_4134.jpg[/img] bivy at beginning of scree field It was about 6pm when the others arrived and with only two hours of light left we decided to call it a night where we were. The friend had some trouble with exposure on the gully and I was definitely worried about how he would handle the next day already feeling unsafe. Luckily we saw two guys rappelling down the entrance section of the Chimneys so we felt great about having a visual for the following day. Next morning I was at the base of the chimneys by 6am waiting for the others to arrive and watching their status from camp. Later did I find out that the friend wrestled with whether or not to start up with us that morning but was motivated by his brother's decision to come along. The Chimneys are great fun. We didn't use a rope anywhere. There are a few sections that are exposed, but mostly 3rd class stuff and even easy trail sections mixed in. Our pace was slooooowwww here. Being my first time on the route I made some poor decisions about which direction to take here and there. Nothing a little traversing couldn't fix but made things more complicated. Here we ran into our first group, a guided climber who had been vomiting all night but still seemed stoked. I guess this was perhaps a sign of things to come. [img:center]http://www.johngrace.com/shuksan/IMG_4233.jpg[/img] maybe half-way up the chimneys We toped the chimneys and put on crampons/boots and stowed our trail runners in a bag. I think when you top out on the chimneys in late season it's not really necessary to put on crampons at this point. Climbing onto the snow it seemed like the right thing to do but I would say just getting your axe out is fine. You initially climb a low angled slope which leads to a shit load of rocks you have to climb over before winnie's slide. At the top of these rocks were a few decent bivy spots but no running water that was easily visible/hearable. [img:center]http://www.johngrace.com/shuksan/IMG_4254.jpg[/img] Winnie's slide was well kicked in. I placed a picket half-way up and just over the top mainly to give myself some security due to the inexperienced climber behind me. Wasn't necessary though and mostly wasted time. The moat from the top of the slide to the rocks below the glacier was a bit wide but not too bad for stepping across. Here's where the decent bivy spots are. A running creek out from under the glacier entrance ramp provided water. We scraped our way up the rock fin to the left of the entrance ramp which was a huge waste of time. If the ramp looks semi-decent I would take it up and two weeks later when back on the route we walked up it. We also saw a serac roll over near the ramp so that had us on our toes. [img:center]http://www.johngrace.com/shuksan/IMG_4280.jpg[/img] yellow tent=best bivy on shuksan From here it's just winding up and around crevasses then back down towards hell's highway. Hell's Highway felt a bit steeper than Winnie's slide. The slog to the summit pyramid is just that, straightforward and hot in the full sun. Arriving at the rocks we hung out for a bit and ate some lunch. It was about noon so I was a bit worried about our getting back to the parking lot by dark. I had a mental turn-around of about 12:30 so figured we'd give it our all to see how far up the rocks we could make it. I started up and cruised past a few rap anchors then headed right which turned out to be a mistake .I found myself looking over the NE ridge back at our route and continued for a bit then hit a spot with some exposed low fifth class moves and imagined myself tumbling to the glacier below so I turned back. Getting back on route I waited for the two scragglers to catch up at which point we had a "should we turn around or not" conversation. It was about 1:30 and I knew since our team was moving painfully slow that we had to get out of there if we wanted to make it to lake Ann before dark. One of the guys had been feeling a bit ill and had been talking about finding shade since we reached the rocks - he was starting to get a bit of heat exhaustion. We decided to turn-around. We had brought the rope up with us in case a rappel seemed safer than down climbing, having not been on the route before, but it didn't seem necessary until the ill climber mentioned rappelling back down as he wasn't feeling good. [img:center]http://www.johngrace.com/shuksan/IMG_4298.jpg[/img] turning around.... The other two guys started to down climb as I began to rig the rappel. At this point the ill climber started vomiting. It really caught me off guard because I knew he was tired and hot but didn't realize the extent of his discomfort. I went down the rope quickly to give the ill climber a fireman's belay. Fortunately he was okay to continue down-climbing after only two rappels. Back at the gear I suggested we move quickly to avoid down climbing the chimneys in the dark. [img:center]http://www.johngrace.com/shuksan/IMG_4335.jpg[/img] views for miles We were roped up and back down to the bottom of hell's highway in no time, don't think we place any pickets this go-around. I was now in the back of the rope team and argued with the leader about how high a route to take up the glacier past the hourglass. We had passed another party just before the summit pyramid and our tracks had melted to the point of looking like the numerous other half melted tracks winding around from the weekend. It's not crazy high on the slope, a comfortable distance from the rocks, but this time of year anyhow there was a large crevasse which blocked a more direct route back to the bivy rocks above Winnie's slide. I think we actually re-entered the rocks above the glacier entrance ramp instead of down climbing the ramp which definitely wasted plenty of time. The glacier ramp is far superior to scrambling on the rocks. A quick water fill-up and we were on our way over the moat and down Winnie's slide this time not taking it so slow as before. Back in the chimney's we made our way down and to the scree field just as the sun was disappearing behind Mt. Baker which makes quite an epic photograph... [img:center]http://www.johngrace.com/shuksan/IMG_4470.jpg[/img] almost down the chimneys...holy shit this route is photogenic [img:center]http://www.johngrace.com/shuksan/IMG_4481.jpg[/img] I think this is where the last rap option is if you want it We made our way across the scree field and hit our bivy sites to pack up the cached gear. There is a pretty decent trail across the scree field if you can manage to follow it. The ill climber was moving slow and I'm pretty sure had been vomiting periodically since the summit pyramid. He was moving strong enough though and surprisingly agreed to try and make it down to lake Ann. I think at this point I was certain we could even make it back to the car by 11pm or so. Sliding around the few dirt/scree slopes leading back to lake Ann we made decent time to the creek below the lake. I waited with my buddy for the two brothers to catch up. They were making slower time due to his illness and hit lake Ann to meet us around 11pm or so. We scouted a big flat spot and flopped down for the night. I was all outta food except for maybe one bar of something so was bummin out a bit about going to bed hungry but low and behold the two brothers pulled a bounty of mountain-house out of their packs, more than enough dinner for everyone. Of course this excited and satiated me plenty so I kept my mouth shut but definitely was a bit miffed as to why so much extra food had been brought and got me thinking about what other extra shit might have been brought. We stuffed ourselves and talked about how bad Mountain House peach cobbler is. We fell to sleep starring at the most stars any of us had seen all summer. It wasn't such a bad thing to spend an extra night out. [img:center]http://www.johngrace.com/shuksan/IMG_4489.jpg[/img] lake Ann, plenty of flat spots but it was monday night... maybe not so much on a summer weekend The next morning we got a slow start. Everyone was a bit wasted and hungry without any breakfast so we powered through the hike out as best we could. The last bit seemed like the longest uphill ever. Once back at the car we broke open the celebratory chips and salsa which at 8am tasted pretty great. Definitely a super fun trip. It's so hard to gauge how long a climb will take given you've never done it before, but I think like many TR's before mine, I definitely underestimated this route. It's not particularly far but there are so many transitional areas where going from rock to snow/glacier can eat up a lot of time if you are not paying attention. I can also see how guided groups protecting the chimneys and summit pyramid do this in three days. I would say it's a two day trip for the most part. If you get an early enough start from the Lake Ann trail head making it to the top of the chimney's for the bivy above Winnie's slide is a great place to spend the night. It's easy enough from there to summit and get back to the car before dark. [img:center]http://www.johngrace.com/shuksan/chimneys%20pano.jpg[/img] gratuitous photoshopped pano Disappointed with not making the summit, my buddy and I headed back to Shuksan on the 28th of September. Without getting too deep it was a 24hr effort. Hiking out in the dark, 1.5hrs to lake Ann. The next morning we had alarm problems so we didn't get out till about 8am, got to the summit and were back at lake Ann by 6pm or so. I carried my approach shoes up to the summit pyramid which made it easier to cruise up to the top. We took the glacier entrance ramp this time which was slippery as hell due to loose pebbles. Didn't place any pickets and easily made it up the chimney's in under :45 and down them in under :30. With a smaller party and some concentration you can cruise up this route. We managed the hike out without headlamps. As we stopped for water before arriving back at lake Ann, the alarm went off...it was set for PM instead of AM...damn IPhone Gear Notes: First time around placed 2 pickets twice, didn't use them the second time. Rope for glacier travel, used it for 2 rappels off summit pyramid first time around, only used for glacier travel second time. Brought light rock rack first time around and second ice tool, whoops. Heavy camera recommended Approach Notes: At the first gully/climbing part after leaving lake anne, look right up a bit after the rap station to find trail that skirts around to the scree slope. Quote
matt_warfield Posted December 21, 2012 Posted December 21, 2012 Great TR. You've got a good start on finding out what Cascade climbing is about. One of the local jokes is Fred Beckey saying in his guidebooks "take the obvious gully". Quote
ivan Posted December 21, 2012 Posted December 21, 2012 the mountain and route that reinforced in my minimal mind the Deep Need to move substantially more westward Quote
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